Sacramento

A:

Sacramento County school districts will have to shed an estimated $140 million when the first dollar goes into Proposition 2's School Account. This will force the reduction of Sacramento school districts' local carryover funds from an average of 13% now, to just 5%. The largest districts, Sacramento City, San Juan and Elk Grove Unified, will be allowed just 4%, while most districts can carry only 6%.

Compare these allowed carryovers with California Department of Education and Government Finance Officers Association recommendations of 15-17% in reserves -- and the state's late payments to schools in all recent fiscal years. Sacramento County schools will be allowed to carry just $81 million forward -- yet the State had not paid Sacramento districts $178 million it owed them just this June 30th (two years after Prop 30 passed). $81 million is peanuts compared with the $377 million the State owed them in June 2012 and the $275 million in June 2013.

Note that six of the districts are shown in red because the California Department of Education "qualified" its certification of these districts' financial condition during some or all of the 2012-2014 period. Despite their challenged financial state, these financially challenged districts will have to spend over $50 million of their ongoing operating funds when the state's "school savings account" receives any deposits! Note also that the average reserves carried by these districts is just 9%, while the healthier districts carry an average of 16%.